Santos and Flamengo confirm Robinho interest

Santos and Flamengo have both started negotiations with AC Milan to sign Robson de Souza 'Robinho', who seems willing to turn his back on European football and return to Brazil, according to newspaper 'Lance'.

The newspaper cites sources inside both Brazilian clubs and assures that "the player’s return to Brazil is only a matter of time" and that a deal could even be finalised before the end of 2012.

According to a spokesperson at Flamengo, "Nothing has been finalised yet, but talks are at an advanced stage". The Rio de Janeiro club has a new board of directors and it plans to strengthen the team for 2013 after almost being relegated to the second division this year.

Robinho burst onto the scene almost a decade ago with Santos. Now the club is dreaming of bringing back the AC Milan player to play alongside Neymar, the current jewel in the club's crown

According to Lance, Santos offered Milan almost $9m to sign Robinho and guaranteed him a salary of no less than $400,000 a month.

The Brazilian sports newspaper maintains that the Milan vice-president, Adriano Galliani is set to travel to Brazil this week for talks with the boards of both Santos and Flamengo.